London open: Nervous start ahead of rate decisions

7th Apr 2011 08:27

Shares are in nervous mode this morning ahead of rate decisions from the Bank of England (BoE) and the European Central Bank(ECB) later today.The BoE is expected to keep rates unchanged at a record low of 0.5%, but the ECB is expected to press ahead with its first rate rise since they were slashed following the 2008-09 financial crisis.The retail sector has come back down to earth following a brief respite yesterday when M&S unexpectedly posted quarterly sales growth.Carpetright is floored by another warning on profits. The flooring and carpet retailer says it now expects pre-tax profits for the year to 30 April to be in line with those achieved in 2009, when trading was hit hard by the economic crisis. It had previously said that profits for the current year would be below 2010 but ahead of 2009.Bicycle and car part retailer Halfords predicted a continuing tough trading environment as it posted a sharp fall in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 1 April. Like-for-like sales from the company's retail outlets were down by 6.8% from the same period the previous year, resulting in a 5.5% fall over the full year. In the first quarter of 2011 international recruitment firm Hays, slightly lower today, saw like-for-like (LFL) growth in net fees in every region except the UK & Ireland, where spending cuts in the public sector are starting to bite. For the group as a whole, fees were up 16% on a year earlier on a LFL basis. "Overall, 21 countries grew net fees by more than 20%," revealed Alistair Cox, chief executive of Hays.Electronics and maintenance products supplier Electrocomponents expects pre-tax profits for the year to 31 March to be marginally above previous expectations after strong international sales helped drive sales above £1bn for the first time in the group's history. Paper and packaging firm Mondi is to hive off its South African packaging business. Mondi will demerge Mondi Packaging South Africa (MPSA) as it believes MPSA's future growth plans, especially with regard to its rigid plastics business, are constrained by the Mondi Group's differing strategic focus. Anglo-Swedish drugs leviathan AstraZeneca has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its thyroid cancer treatment Vandetanib.Plastics group Victrex reported record half year sales volume of around 1,434 tonnes, an increase of 22% from the same time last year. The group, which makes and sells polymers, said the record 752 tonnes sold in the second quarter of this year was 10% above the 682 tonnes sold in the first quarter, "reinforcing the positive underlying trends in the Victrex Polymer Solutions business."